Linus Lundqvist sustains first crash in 2024 Indianapolis 500 practice
INDIANAPOLIS – “It just happened so fast,” Linus Lundqvist said.
At approximately 11:30 a.m., just a little more than an hour into the first full day of practice for the upcoming Indianapolis 500, the Chip Ganassi Racing rookie lost control of his No. 8 Honda as the right rear slammed into the Turn 2 wall at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.
Lundqvist then sputtered out across the track before stopping in the grass on the back straight. While the 25-year-old Swede said he feels OK physically, disappointment covered his face as he knew his first chance at a full day of practice was over prematurely.
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“It sucks, it hurts,” Lundqvist said. “… I know exactly what I did, it's not something that I didn't know beforehand. That’s kind of what's the worst thing about it.”
Team owner Chip Ganassi quickly arrived at the IMS Emergency Medical Center. Although Lundqvist was grateful for Ganassi’s support, he feels he let his team down.
In fact, the first thing that came to his mind once he crashed was apologizing.
“I feel bad for the whole team, for Chip and all of the crew today. They spent a lot of time building this car together, so kind of ruining it like this, it’s not good,” Lundqvist said.
When Lundqvist’s car was towed away, the back wing was torn off, the back right tire was flat and grass was all over the car. At the time of the crash, Lundqvist had the day's sixth-fastest lap speed at 226.261 mph.
Contact Kyle Smedley at kmsmedley213@gmail.com or on X @KyleSmedley_.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Linus Lundqvist sustains first crash in 2024 Indianapolis 500 practice
